It’s been a few years now since my school prom but seeing friend’s kids and younger families sharing their photos this summer of their prom has really reminded me of how different mine was.
Some seem to have been really elaborate and they’ve hired cars and dresses. I lived very close to my school, so I walked to prom. How very posh! There seems to be a load of prom car hire ideas now and I love that, I’ll keep the ideas for my kids for sure. I’ve always been against hiring a dress because I will probably spill something down the dress so I prefer to buy a dress for a special event. With so many shops having sales this summer, there must have been some bargain dresses too.
I’ve seen a lot of selfies (obviously!) but have also noticed a lot of professional photo shots too. It’s really much more of an ‘event’ than I remember mine being. I loved mine though, because back then we didn’t have all this technology and it was one of the best summers of my life!
I’ve also seen a lot of people sharing wedding photos this summer, their own and also as a guest. I think we all love the wedding season and if we spot a wedding at a local church, we all go and have a look at the bride. Of course we clap and cheer the happy couple too!
So, is it always about the dress?
I think we all when we are invited somewhere, will think ‘what am I going to wear?’. Whether you’re the bride or a guest, it’s still an important decision. For a prom it can be the only time your friends have seen you ‘dressed up’ and the same as a bride, is this the first time your guests will see you in a dress?
For me, I have always tried to manage a balance of feeling confident in myself (let’s be honest body image is a big thing) and also actually feeling able to be confident IN the dress… the difference being, can you sit down in the dress, are the straps good enough, can you dance in the dress. Being confident in yourself AND in the dress is super important. I find a good mix of online and offline shopping is the best way to do this. You can always recycle a dress that you’ve worn before, I do that quite a lot – making sure it’s a different groups of friends. But even adding a cardigan in the cooler months or different jewellery could be enough to make it look like you have a new outfit.
We all want to look good in the photos that are taken and there are so many new ways that photos are being taken now with advances in technology. There is wedding photo sharing although I still like having the odd selfie or maybe a polaroid!
With all the problems with social media recently, dress sharing is something I really love!